Scientific Name: Elephas maximus

The Asian elephant is much smaller than the African elephant. It also lacks the gigantic ears and hollow back of the African species. It has four nails on each hind foot, while the African has three. The trunk ends in a single ‘lip’ in contrast to the two ‘lips’ in the African one. Usually, only the males have tusks. The tusks of females protrude just a few inches, or not at all. Females are generally docile, but large males can be quite aggressive.

Despite their huge size, wild elephants are elusive, mainly frequenting areas covered with tall forests where the ground is hilly or undulating and where bamboo grows in profusion. They are quite adaptable and will live in steamy humid jungles as well as cool elevated forests.

Elephants feed during the morning, evening and night. They rest during the middle of the day, requiring shade during the hot season to keep from overheating. Elephants cannot go for long without water. They require 70-90 liters of fluid every day. Sometimes they must travel long distances each day between their water supplies and feeding areas.

The Asian elephant once ranged from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in ancient Mesopotamia in the west, to the Yangtze River in China to the north and Java in the south. It was formerly called the Indian elephant, which is a confusing name, since Asian elephants occur in 13 Asian countries, from west India, to southern China, and in southeast from the Malay peninsula to the islands Sumatra and Borneo.

Poaching has not affected the overall population numbers of Asian elephants as drastically as it has in the case of the African elephant. The single most important cause of the decline of the Asian elephant has been the loss of habitat. They have also been affected by persecution due to the crop damage they are perceived to cause.